


Is it the look in your eyes, or is it this dancing juice?

by grangered



Category: Hunger Games Series - All Media Types, The Hunger Games (Movies)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-11-01
Updated: 2016-11-24
Packaged: 2018-08-28 12:12:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,952
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8445409
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/grangered/pseuds/grangered
Summary: “They want to deport me,” she says. “Back to Canada. And I can’t let that happen because I have a job to do here. And I’m good at my job. So I told the CEO’s that we were engaged. Because if we’re engaged that means I get to stay.”“You’re Canadian?” Peeta asks, because three years working for Katniss and he’s never once heard of this. “Peeta!” Katniss whisper-yells. “Did you not hear me? We’re engaged now. You understand what that means, yes?”“Wait,” Peeta says. “Hold on. Why do I have to pretend to be your fiancé? How did this even happen?” Alternatively, The Proposal AU. Well, sort of.





	1. Chapter 1

“She’s on her way up!” Thom exclaims, hurriedly making his way to his table. It’s as if once the words leave his mouth, there’s a ripple effect and suddenly everyone is scurrying to their tables, organizing files on their desks in an attempt to look better kept. Peeta takes that as his cue and quickly grabs the paper cup that holds his boss’ _very_ specific coffee order and walks towards her office door, waiting at the entrance. Katniss Everdeen is a woman of very specific taste, Peeta thinks bitterly as he remembers how earlier this morning; he had to wait an extra _twenty_ minutes because the coffee shop he was at didn’t have any Ristretto with them.

His thoughts are interrupted when he hears heels click along the linoleum floor, and the entire room goes silent. Slow chants of ‘good morning Ms. Everdeen’ echo through the room, and Katniss gives everyone short smiles or an awkward wave. She gets to her doors, barely glancing at Peeta as he greets her and goes straight for the coffee in his hand before entering her room. Peeta resists the urge to roll his eyes and follows her inside. He observes Katniss as she sits at her desk, her hair is half clipped and her suit is pristine, probably an expensive name brand. He supposes she would be considered attractive if it weren’t for her _god awful_ personality.

“I need you to deliver these documents to Mr. Abernathy’s office, and make sure he signs them. Bring them back to me once he has,” she says in a clipped tone, cutting off his thoughts. Peeta nods, taking a bright yellow file from her outstretched hand and tucking it under his arm. Even though Katniss is probably one of the least pleasant people he has ever come across in his entire existence, he still respects her. She’s the head of a publishing house; has been since she was twenty two and three years later she’s still going strong. She’s good at what she does, and he figures being her assistant is the closest he can ever get to actually publishing a book.

 “Your writing is too emotional, all over the place. Other than that, it’s decent,” she had once told him after reading a manuscript of his which took _a lot_ of convincing and late night coffee runs. He remembered being both offended at the first part, and slightly surprised at the compliment she had paid him. He had given up trying to publish a book after that, not because of what she had said, but because writing became more of a chore for him rather than something enjoyable. And he didn’t mind his job, other than his mildly terrifying boss and her coffee orders that made calculus seem like a piece of cake.  He hears a throat clearing, and he looks up to find Katniss looking at him with a quizzical look on her face.

“I’ve given you your work for the morning, is there anything else you need Mellark?” she asks, tugging open a drawer and pulling out a rather large manuscript. He takes that as his cue to leave and shuffles out of the room, shooting a smile at Thom as he makes his way towards the elevators. It’s an hours drive to Abernathy and Co and with traffic he’ll probably only get there by ten.

An hour and a half later he’s sitting in a plush chair with a glass of some sort of bright pink cocktail in his hand that Effie, Haymitch Abernathy’s assistant had given to him. Haymitch sits behind a large oak table staring at the documents Peeta had given him a few moments ago. Haymitch is a decent man. That’s the only way Peeta can describe him. He drinks too much and he’s probably the most cynical person Peeta has ever met but he’s always there to offer Peeta advice, albeit sometimes reluctantly. Peeta knows Haymitch cares for Katniss a lot too; they had been working together since Katniss took over the publishing company.

“She wants me to go over _all_ of these and sign them by the end of the day?” Haymitch asks, looking at the blonde boy sitting across from him.

Peeta nods, taking a sip of his cocktail and trying not to cringe at how sweet it is. “Actually, she wants them back by the afternoon.”

Haymitch grumbles something under his breath. Peeta is pretty sure it’s something rather unpleasant. “Did you tell her that this is a forty paged document and that I don’t write at the speed of light?”

Peeta shrugs. “You know how she is. I don’t think she’d listen to me.”

Haymitch snorts before taking a gulp of whatever is in his dark blue flask. “You’re still scared of her, then? Jeez Mellark, you’ve been working with her for three years.”

“Working _for_ her,” Peeta corrects. “And I’m not _scared_ of her, per se. She’s just difficult Haymitch, you _know_ that.”

Haymitch grunts in agreement just as Effie comes floating into the room. Her hair is a pale blue in color, and her nails match. She’s got a bright smile on her face; her lips are painted a gentle pink.

“My flask is empty,” Haymitch says looking displeased. Effie rolls her eyes.

“Maybe you shouldn’t have drunk it all so quickly,” she says, but her tone is affectionate. Peeta still isn’t too sure whether Haymitch and Effie are together or not, but he figures word would have spread by now if they were. And it would be a fairly awkward question to ask either of them, even if Haymitch is one of his closest friends.

Peeta pushes himself out of the plush armchair, clearing his throat. “I’ll leave you to those,” he says, gesturing to the pile of papers on Haymitch’s desk. “And Effie, the cocktail was lovely.”

Effie grins and Haymitch grunts, rolling his eyes. “Don’t lie to her, Mellark. You’ll just be stuck drinking those for the rest of your life.”

Effie glares at him, before facing Peeta. “Drive back safely, Peeta. And tell Katniss I say hello!”

Peeta nods, lifting his hand in a short wave before making his way to the door. Outside, the air is warm and sticky and Peeta shrugs out of his suit jacket, rolling up the sleeves of his dress shirt. He manages to make it back to office in a record twenty minutes, but upon his arrival, he’s greeted by a nervous looking Thom.

“Katniss wants to see you in her office, _right now_. She sounds mad,” he says, grabbing the jacket from Peeta’s arms and ushering him towards her room. Everyone is watching him, either with frightened eyes or smug expressions and Peeta can feel his palms starting to get clammy. He rolls down his sleeves as he makes his way to Katniss’ room, willing his pulse to slow down. When he enters, Katniss is sitting at her desk, staring at the computer screen. Her eyebrows are furrowed and her mouth is pulled into a frown, and she’s frantically typing.

“Uh, Miss Everdeen?” Peeta says, unsurely. Katniss’ head snaps up, and she glares at him for a second before her expressions clears.

“I need your help,” are the first words out of her mouth. “We have to pretend to be engaged.”

Peeta looks at her for a second, trying to process her words. His mouth opens and then closes. And then, he embarrassingly squeaks out “what?” and Katniss is on her feet, moving towards him.

“They want to _deport_ me,” she says. “Back to Canada. And I can’t let that happen because I have a job to do here. And I’m _good_ at my job. So I told the CEO’s that we were engaged. Because if we’re engaged that means I get to stay.”

“You’re Canadian?” Peeta asks, because three years working for Katniss and he’s never once heard of this.

“Peeta!” Katniss whisper-yells. “Did you not hear me? We’re _engaged_ now. You understand what that means, yes?”

“Wait,” Peeta says. “Hold on. Why do _I_ have to pretend to be your fiancé? How did this even happen?”

Katniss lets out an irritated sigh, rolling her eyes. “When you went to Haymitch’s office, I was called to Coin’s room. Snow was there too. They said there was something wrong with my work visa, that I had violated a law. And then they told me that I was going to be deported. And so, I told them we were engaged. Because, like I said; they can’t deport me if I’m going to _marry_ you.”

She’s calm and collected again, like the Katniss he knows. The flush in her cheeks are fading and she seems less frazzled. Peeta on the other hand, is starting to freak out. He can feel his entire face going red and his ears are getting warm. Suddenly, Katniss’ gigantic office seems almost too small.

“But we aren’t _getting_ married. Katniss, what did you even _do_ to violate a law?” Peeta questions. His voice sounds panicked, and his palms are sweaty again. He also realises that it’s the first time he’s ever called her by her first name to her face.

Katniss shrugs. “I travelled when I wasn’t supposed, to that meeting in England last year.”

“I’m not marrying you,” Peeta says, because he’s not. He can’t. _He refuses_ to subject himself to that sort of torture. Katniss rolls her eyes again.

“Oh for God sakes, Mellark. I’m not _proposing_ to you. I just need you to do this for me, until I figure out how to deal with the issue,” Katniss says, in a tone similar to that of someone saying _water is wet_.

“And why exactly should I help you lie to the feds?” Peeta asks, and it takes everything in him to not yell at her.

“Because I’m your boss,” Katniss responds, looking him dead in the eye.

“Not if you get deported, you’re not,” Peeta returns and if anyone told him that he’d be talking to Katniss like this yesterday, he would’ve laughed in their face.

“I can get you a publishing deal,” she says easily.

“I don’t write anymore,” Peeta answers evenly, shifting on his feet.

“A _publishing deal_ ,” Katniss repeats with more emphasis. “Isn’t that all you’ve ever wanted, Peeta?”

 _She’s right_ , he thinks as he watches her. She’s still looking him in the eye, chin raised up defiantly. It’s so _Katniss_ of her.

“How long would we have to pretend?” he asks and Katniss’s mouth stretched into a triumphant grin.

“As long as necessary,” she says. “But I’ll get it sorted out as soon as I can.”

“And what would be required of me?” he asks, and Katniss crosses her arms over her chest.

“Well, we’ll have to be engaged, obviously. We have to go see an immigration officer in about one hour, about the whole thing,” Katniss says and Peeta nods. “We also have to get married.”

Her last sentence comes out short and quietly.

“What?!” Peeta yells and Katniss shushes him. “You said we weren’t getting married,” he whispers now and Katniss has the decency to look sheepish.

“Technically, I said I wasn’t _proposing_ to you,” she says and Peeta glares at her. “Peeta, it only needs to last for a couple of months, a year at the most. I swear this will be over before you know it.”

“Why do we need to get married?” Peeta asks, letting out a sigh.

“Well, you’re American. If we get married, I get a green card and don’t have to worry about kicked out. And you get a publishing deal.”

“How do you expect us to pull this off?” he questions.

“We’ve secretly been together for a year. You proposed to me, six months ago. We fell madly in love after spending late nights at the office together but we kept it on the down low because it wasn’t professional,” Katniss says immediately, like she’s been going over the story in her head for hours. Which she probably has. Peeta’s mouth pulls into a frown.

“That’s cliché,” he says and Katniss looks genuinely amused.

“Peeta, this isn’t a romance novel. I get that you’re a writer but we don’t get brownie points for originality,” Katniss responds, her mouth twitching into a small smile. Peeta sighs, nodding.

“I can’t believe I’m agreeing to this,” he finally says and Katniss snorts. It’s the most undignified thing she’s ever done in his presence and they both seem to realise it at the same time. She clears her throat, gesturing towards the door.

“We should get to that meeting with the immigration officer,” she says and Peeta nods. “You go first, I’ll follow.”

When Peeta leaves her office, everyone is staring at him in shock. He goes to his cubicle, grabbing his wallet and when he turns around, Thom is eyeing him with wonder.

“You’re engaged to Everdeen?” he whispers, eyes widening almost comically. “And you never told _me_?”

“We wanted to keep it on the down low,” Peeta says uncomfortably. “You know how office rules are, Thom.”

Thom nods, although he still looks shocked. “Yeah man, I get it.”

“I did really want to tell you, Thom,” Peeta says, feeling guilty. Him and Thom aren’t particularly close, but he is one of Peeta’s only acquaintances in the firm.

“I understand, Peeta,” Thom says giving him a warm smile. He pats Peeta on the back, before Katniss comes out of her office, looking as pristine as usual. She walks to his desk, outstretching her arm and Peeta looks at her like she’s mental before Thom clears his throat, looking pointedly at Peeta and then Katniss’ hand. Peeta takes it, slowly, and Katniss’ fingers twine with his. Her hand is cold but her grip is firm. Thom smirks at Peeta, eyes crinkling up in glee and Peeta wants to cry.

The walk to the elevator is awkward, to put it lightly and everyone silently watches them, some even with their mouths hanging open. When the elevator doors slide shut, Peeta lets out a sigh of relief.

“We need to do better,” Katniss says in an almost business like tone. “We’re too awkward.”

“Well it’s not like we’re the best of friends, Katniss,” Peeta grumbles. He realises that since he’s agreed to this bizarre plan of hers that he _should_ go back to being nice to her since she’s still his boss, but Katniss doesn’t seem to mind his tone or his use of her first name.

“No but we can be convincing liars,” she responds, looking at him. The elevator doors slide open and she exits and he follows, sort of like all those times where she’s heading to a meeting and needs him to come with. Except this time, she stops, taking his hand in hers yet again before walking towards a taxi.

“The immigration officer, Plutarch Heavensbee, thinks I’m lying. We _have_ to be convincing, Peeta,” she says seriously. “Or else we both go to jail.”

Peeta nods, keeping his face stoic although his heart is pumping a mile a minute. The ride to the immigration office is silent save for some preppy pop song playing on the radio. Katniss keeps glancing at her phone, eyebrows furrowed in concentration. When they get there, he gets down first, and she follows after paying the cab driver. They walk to Heavensbee’s office in silence, the air thick and tense around them. Peeta can tell Katniss is nervous from the way she keeps tapping her fingers against her leg. He takes her hand, holding it in his and smiles at her.

“Calm down,” he says firmly, still smiling. Katniss smiles back, nodding.

Heavensbee’s office is startlingly yellow and has a moose head, hanging on the wall. Heavensbee himself is startlingly pink and wears a suit so tight it looks like the buttons are waiting to burst. When they walk in, he grins and gestures for them to sit down. Before either of them can speak, he starts talking.

“Let me get down to it,” he says, voice warm and charming. “I think you two are lying. I don’t think you’re in love, I don’t you even like one another and I most definitely don’t think you’re gonna get married. I understand your desperation to stay here, Miss Everdeen but you, Mr. Mellark. What has she said to get you in on her farce?”

Katniss opens her mouth, and a vein in her neck stands out. Peeta knows what that means, and it’s a never a good sign. Katniss can get brash when she’s angry. So he speaks instead, before she can get a word out.

“Mr. Heavensbee, it’s very nice to meet you,” Peeta first says because he _knows_ he can be charming when he wants to be. “I do understand your, doubts, about Katniss and me. I don’t blame you, if I were you; I’d feel the same way. But I assure you, we’ve been together for about a year now.”

Heavensbee opens his mouth, face red and ears almost matching but Peeta continues.

“You know how unprofessional it would have looked for us to go public with this relationship, given that I’m her assistant. That’s why we kept it on the down low.”

Heavensbee regards the two of them carefully and Peeta hopes to God that he’s managed to pull this off because going to jail for pretending to be engaged to your boss to stop her from being deported is probably the lamest thing he has ever heard of. When Heavensbee gives a slight nod, Peeta almost lets out a sigh of relief.

“You’ll be called in this weekend. I will interview each of you _individually_ and if your answers don’t match word to word, I will have you, Ms. Everdeen, deported from here and you, Mr. Mellark will be arrested for going against the law,” Heavensbee says after a pause. Peeta wants to vomit. Katniss clears her throat.

“Mr. Heavensbee, we can’t do this weekend, unfortunately. It’s Peeta’s brother’s wedding this weekend, we’re going to attend it,” Katniss says. “I’m meeting the family for this first time!”

Peeta is most likely staring at Katniss with his mouth wide open because not only did she just smoothly lie; she managed to look shy and excited all at once. There’s a small smile tugging at her lips and if he didn’t know her, he would actually think she was being genuine.

“And when will you be back?” Heavensbee asks, and Peeta clears his throat before answering.

“We’ll be back Monday night. We leave this Thursday.”

“Fine. Then I shall interview the two of you once you return. Remember what I said,” Heavensbee says, looking at the two of them seriously. They both simultaneously nod. “You may leave now.”

Outside the building, Katniss lets out a sigh of relief as Peeta turns to glare at her.

“My brothers’ wedding? You told me I wouldn’t be able to _go_ to it,” he says. He had asked her about it a month ago and she had looked at him over her computer before saying that she needed him that weekend to help her go over manuscripts.

“Well now you get to go,” she says easily.

“With _you_!” he exclaims and Katniss glares at him. He lowers his voice although he can feel a vein in his neck popping out. “My family don’t know about this, in case you forgot.”

“Peeta, it’s one weekend. We can pretend to be engaged for three days, I’m sure the both of us will survive.”

“You haven’t even asked me. You just assumed I would say yes because you’re my boss,” Peeta responds and Katniss has the decency to look slightly guilty. There’s a pregnant pause.

“You’re right,” she says. “I’m sorry. I should’ve asked you instead of presuming that you’d be okay with it even though I am your boss and technically, you do _have_ to listen to-“

“Katniss!”

“Right. Sorry. We can tell Heavensbee we couldn’t go because of work, or something. And we can practice for the interview today and tomorrow.”

Peeta sighs through his nose. “No, no it’s fine. My family is always complaining about how I’m single, this should shut them up for a while.”

“I only told Heavensbee we were going so we’d have enough time to learn about each other,” Katniss explains and she looks nervous. Her mask of confidence has slipped off.

“Yeah, that’s a good idea. I didn’t think of it like that,” Peeta replies and Katniss hums.

“I should’ve asked,” she repeats and Peeta shrugs.

“I’ll book us tickets,” is all he says in response. Katniss pauses then.

“Where exactly is this wedding?” she asks and Peeta snorts.

“Hawaii,” he says and Katniss’ jaw actually drops.

“Hawaii?” she asks sounding only slightly horrified. “That’s far.”

This time, Peeta hums in response.

“We’ll leave Thursday morning, and get back Tuesday night. The wedding’s on Monday,” Peeta says. Katniss nods.

“Will you tell your parents about, us?” Katniss wonders and Peeta nods.

“I’ll call them today, tell them I’m coming with you and explain the situation.”

“You’ll tell them the truth?” she asks, sounding skeptical. Peeta snorts.

“Not a chance in hell,” he says. His mother would never let him live it down if she knew the truth. Their relationship had always been strained, for reasons unknown to him, but it had taken a turn for the worst when Peeta decided to not follow his brothers’ footsteps and join the family business and instead decided to become a writer. They barely had conversations after that save for Christmas greetings and happy birthdays.

“Well, we should be getting back to work,” Katniss says after a stretch of silence. “I need to drop of a couple of things at Finnick’s office. I’ll see you at the firm.”

And with that, she’s walking away from him. Her heels click against the pavement and her shoulders are drawn back, like she’s marching into war. She hails a cab and then she’s gone. Peeta lets out a breath, slouching against the wall behind him, regretting every decision in his life that brought him into this situation.

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> here's chapter 2!

Wednesday passes by in a blur of badly hidden staring and people whispering about _Katniss and Peeta_ when they think Peeta isn’t listening. Thom is the only one who treats him like he’s _normal_ and for that he’s grateful.

“They’re scared of you,” Thom says laughingly, as the two of them walk towards the elevator. Peeta needs to get home and pack.

“Scared of me? Why?” Peeta asks, genuinely shocked.

“We’ve spent the last year bad-mouthing Katniss in front of you, only for you to have been _engaged_ to her,” Thom says, amusement evident in his facial expression. Peeta snorts.

“We’ve only been engaged for six months,” he replies and Thom laughs.

“And now she’s meeting the family,” Thom says and Peeta shrugs. It was horrible calling his parents and explaining to them that in the last year he had started dating his boss, _proposed_ to her and was now bringing her to Rye’s wedding. His father was genuinely happy albeit slightly annoyed at Peeta for keeping it from them for so long, and when Peeta had told his mother, she had merely made a noise at the back of her throat before telling Peeta that she was looking forward to meeting Katniss, in a tone similar to that of someone talking about rotting corpses. Rye was ecstatic, and Breyan made jokes about Peeta finally _getting some_ to which Peeta awkwardly laughed in response. 

Thom tells Peeta that he has to go pick up a couple of groceries before heading home, wishing him a safe flight before thumping him on the shoulder and making a beeline towards his car. Peeta’s just about to hail a cab when he hears someone yell out his name. He turns around and finds Katniss walking towards him. Her cheeks are flushed and her hair is sort of a mess and it’s odd to see her looking so frazzled.

“I’ve been trying to get a hold of you for the last five minutes,” she says and Peeta’s about to apologise but she continues. “Are you deaf when you walk?”

“Is there anything you need me to do for you?” he asks, holding back a snarky response. He sounds tired and Katniss seems to notice because her voice softens, only slightly, when she responds.

“What time are we meeting at the airport tomorrow?” she questions and Peeta shrugs.

 “The flight’s at noon, so I guess we should be there by ten.”

Katniss nods. “Alright. I’ll see you then.”

Peeta blinks and she’s gone. He sees her retreating figure walking back into the office building, heels clicking against the pavement. He realises he’s been staring at the place she stood just a few minutes ago for a while now, so he turns around and hails a taxi, letting out a sigh of relief as he stretches his legs. Traffic ends up taking the taxi driver an extra fifteen minutes to get to Peeta’s apartment block and Peeta grudgingly pays him extra for the hassle.

When he makes his way into his apartment the first thing he does is head for his room and start packing. He stuffs in a handful of clothes and undergarments, before heading towards the bathroom and packing toiletries. When he’s done, he carefully takes the bag with his suit, and places it on top of his suitcase. He’s just about to fall asleep when he realises that Katniss hasn’t been wearing an engagement ring. He contemplates texting her, mostly because getting a reply from Katniss when it doesn’t concern work is almost as rare as being in a situation where you’re forced to pretend to be engaged to your boss, but he grits his teeth and grabs his phone. His mother is sceptical enough as is, and if Katniss doesn’t have a ring on her finger tomorrow, she’ll probably see right through them.

_Peeta [10:05 pm]: hi, i just realised that we don’t have an engagement ring. any ideas?_

He leaves his phone in his room and makes his way to the kitchen, getting out some old Chinese takeaway from the fridge and heating it up. When he gets back, egg rolls and noodles in one hand, and a glass of water in the other, Katniss has already replied.

 _Katniss [10:07 pm]:_ _Hey, don’t worry about it. I’ve got it covered._

_Peeta [10:15 pm]: okay, that’s good. i’ll see you tomorrow then._

Peeta sets his phone down, shoving an egg roll into his mouth. He hadn’t realised how hungry he was until now. His phone buzzes when he’s halfway through his second egg roll.

_Katniss [10:18 pm]: Yeah, see ya then._

It’s sort of odd seeing Katniss use a word like _ya_ when she’s always so formal at work. Peeta can only remember one time when she laughed at a joke Thom cracked at a Christmas party, but even then, she only smiled and her shoulders shook slightly. Putting his phone away, he finishes up the rest of his dinner before heading to bed. Tomorrow was going to be a very long day, and the rest of the weekend would probably be even more nerve wracking. He needed as much sleep as he could get.

*****

Katniss is already at the airport by the time Peeta gets there.  He’s five minutes early because Katniss is still his boss and he’s still mildly terrified of her, but when he gets to the airport, he spots her sitting on a bench near the departure section, reading a book. She’s wearing jeans and a blouse and looks _casual_ which is so far off to the Katniss he knows. When he approaches her, she actually smiles at him, cheeks dimpling and eyes squinting.

“Where’s my coffee?” she asks, after he’s said hello and Peeta freezes.

“Oh, I didn’t bring any. But there’s a Starbucks inside, I’m sure I could get your order there,” Peeta quickly says because of course. He’s still her assistant and she’s still the one who signs his pay checks. He watches her carefully and Katniss’ lip twitches before she breaks out into an amused smile.

“I was joking,” she says. “I do that sometimes, I crack jokes.”

Peeta wants to kick himself, and he feels his ears burn bright red.

“Right, you were joking. Sorry, I’m a bit nervous,” he responds, ears still rouge. Katniss’ smile falters and she looks guilty.

“Of course you are, you’re introducing your family to your fake fiancée for the first time. I would be too,” she returns. He’s about to suggest they go check in when she continues.

“Contrary to what you might think Peeta, I’m not doing this to torture you or for my own amusement. This is the only thing I could think of when they first told me about my deportation; I didn’t mean to drag you into it. You’re just the first person that popped into my head.”

She looks serious as she says it; a lot like how she looks when she’s reading a particularly interesting manuscript and Peeta doesn’t know how to respond. He’s not angry at her per se, because he does understand her dilemma, but he’s frustrated at the situation they’re in. Particularly having to see his judgemental mother pass comments about how the only reason he has a job is because he’s engaged to his boss, which she definitely will do.

“It’s fine,” Peeta says and Katniss doesn’t seem satisfied with his rather short answer but she nods. She stands up, smoothing out her shirt before gesturing to the entrance.

“Shouldn’t we check in?” she asks and Peeta nods. He goes to take her bag but she shrugs it off, placing the strap on her own shoulder. The airport isn’t that crowded so they get through security fast enough, but the line at the check-in counter is long and winded and Peeta’s head is throbbing by the time they make it to the front. The check-in itself takes a handful of minutes, and soon enough they’re being ushered onto the plane. Peeta booked them in business class since it seemed fitting but mostly because the company was paying for their tickets. Katniss asks if she can have the window seat and Peeta agrees because he’s always hated heights and looking out a plane window and seeing nothing but clouds and sky makes him nauseous. Once the flight has taken off, the two of them are left in a slightly awkward silence. Peeta cannot stop fidgeting, continuously shifting in his seat or drumming his fingers on his arm rest and fifteen minutes into the journey, Katniss looks at him sharply.

“Are you alright?” she asks, and she sounds only slightly annoyed.

“I’m fine, why do you ask?” he questions, and he almost cringes at how nervous he sounds.

“Well you haven’t stopped moving since we got on and you sound like you want to vomit,” she explains and Peeta resists the urge to glare at her.

“I’m fine,” he snaps and Katniss looks sceptical but doesn’t say much else. She turns back to the novel she had been reading, shifting in her seat so she’s faced more towards the window than him. Peeta feels bad for snapping at her, since it was probably the first time she’s ever shown concern over him, so he clears his throat and turns to her.

“I’m terrified of flying,” he explains and Katniss’ head snaps in his direction. “I hate heights and being on a plane is a constant reminder of how far up we are and the entire just makes me really sick.”

Katniss opens her mouth and then closes it, as if she decides against saying what she was going to say. There’s a pregnant pause before she speaks.

“I’m scared of cats,” she says instead and Peeta is grateful she doesn’t try to comfort him since that would be weird for the both of them. “I hate them. My sister Prim had a cat and she would always try to get me to play with it and those would be the worst minutes of my life.”

Peeta notes the use of past tense when Katniss talks about her sister and now that he thinks about it, he’s not too sure she’s ever mentioned having a family before, but he doesn’t ask her about it.

“I like cats,” Peeta says in response and the corner of Katniss’ mouth lifts up in a small smile.

“I would say I’m surprised but I’m not,” she responds and Peeta raises an eyebrow at her. “You seem like the type,” she explains.

“And what are the cat liking type like?” Peeta asks, genuinely curious.

“Like you,” is the only response he gets out of her before she turns back to her book, although there’s a small smile on her face as she resumes reading. Peeta takes out his phone, plugging in his earphones before closing his eyes and drifting off. The next time he wakes up, Katniss is still reading and when he asks her how long they have left until they land, he has to wait until she finishes the chapter before she responds.

“Less than an hour, I think,” she answers. Her braided hair is messy now, strands framing her face and sticking up, making her look younger. Her glasses are slipping off her nose and Peeta resists the urge to push them up himself.

“I didn’t know I was asleep for that long,” Peeta says and Katniss hums.

“The kid in the seat adjacent to us thought you were dead. He even tried poking you but you wouldn’t budge, except to turn away from him.”

“You let a random child poke me?” Peeta asks and Katniss shrugs.

“He was worried you weren’t breathing, so I decided to elevate his stress by letting him poke you to see if you were alive,” she explains.

“That’s nice of you,” Peeta says and Katniss takes off her glasses before she responds.

“Well don’t sound so surprised,” she replies and Peeta looks away sheepishly.

The flight lands smoothly although it takes them a half hour to make their way to Arrivals and another twenty minutes to get to the baggage carousel. As they leave the airport, Peeta gets tackled to the ground by who he hopes are his brothers. Katniss watches, eyes wide and mouth in an O, before Peeta feels the people on him move off. He stands up, only to be hugged by Rye once more.

“I haven’t seen you in ages, Peet,” Rye says as he pulls away. He realises that Katniss is there half a second later, and turns to her immediately, pulling her into a hug. Katniss is stiff for a moment before she returns it, albeit awkwardly.

“Let her go, Rye, you’re weirding her out,” Breyan says and Peeta chuckles awkwardly. Rye pulls back, grinning at Peeta and Katniss.

“You must be Katniss, we’ve heard so much! It’s so nice to finally meet you,” Rye says. “I’m Rye, by the way.”

“I’m Breyan,” his other brother says, offering Katniss his hand. She shakes it, smiling at both of his brothers.

“It’s nice to meet you too, Peeta’s told me so much about you both,” Katniss says and her voice sounds light and excited and Peeta has to give her props for lying so well. “And congratulations on the wedding, Rye.”

“Thank you, Katniss. Congratulations to you two on getting engaged. About time, for Peeta over here. He’s such a hopeless romantic,” Rye says and Katniss looks at Peeta, amusement twinkling in her eyes.

“So,” Peeta says before either of his brothers can embarrass him any further, “let’s get to the resort, shall we? I could use a shower.”

Breyan nods, as Rye takes both their bags and starts heading towards the car. Rye keeps up a stream of chatter as they weave their way through all the cars. Peeta helps Rye with the bags as Katniss and Breyan make small talk, and soon enough, they’re on their way to the resort. It takes them an hour to get to the resort, which is away from the city and near a private beach and Peeta is ready to fall asleep by the time they reach. The car ride consisted of Rye trying to embarrass Peeta even more, and Katniss politely conversing with both his brothers. They promised her they’d show her an embarrassing home video of when Peeta tried to fly off the dining table only to fall flat on his face and fracture his leg and Peeta glares at both of them, while Katniss laughed.

A bell boy comes to get their bags and Peeta is hoping he can avoid his parents, particularly his mother, until later but when they enter the lobby, his dad is right there with his mother right next to him. His father pulls him into a hug, and positively beams when Peeta introduces Katniss to him, pulling her into a hug too. Peeta thinks he should’ve warned Katniss about how affectionate his family are since she stiffens every time someone hugs her. When Peeta turns to his mother, she’s watching both him and Katniss with an unreadable expression.

“Hello son,” she greets, still eyeing them carefully. “I hope your flight went well.”

“It was fine,” Peeta returns. Katniss stands next to him, and he can feel the tension in the room thicken. “This is Katniss, my fiancée.”

“Yes, I figured that much out on my own actually. It’s a pleasure to meet you, dear,” his mother says, looking at Katniss.

“The pleasure is all mine,” Katniss says, still smiling although Peeta is fairly sure she can sense the tension between him and his mother too.

“You two must be tired,” his mother says. “You should go freshen up before dinner. All your cousins will be there, and I’d like for the two of you to look presentable, especially when you’re introducing your fiancée.”

Peeta clenches his jaw and he can feel Katniss stiffen next to him. He’s about to respond, but Katniss beats him to it.

“That’s a good idea, Mrs. Mellark. We’ll see you at dinner,” Katniss says, still smiling. “Why don’t we go get our room keys, Peeta?”

Peeta nods and just as they’re about to head to the front desk, his mother interrupts. “I swapped your reservation for the two single beds for a room with a queen. Seems pointless for you two to have separate beds when you’re engaged.”

Peeta would be embarrassed by his mother’s implications if it were not for the impending sense of doom settling in his gut. He would have to share a bed with Katniss. And for _four nights_. Peeta feels like the forces of nature are working against him. His thoughts are interrupted when Katniss nudges him, looking at him expectantly.

“Sorry, what?” Peeta asks dumbly. Katniss clears her throat before she responds.

“I said, why we don’t go get our room key and freshen up before dinner?” she repeats and Peeta nods. His mother smiles at them before they head to the front desk, and there’s something smug in the tilt of her lips that makes Peeta anxious. Katniss volunteers to talk to the concierge, a lanky man with greasy hair that looks at them like they’re in the wrong hotel. She gets the keys quickly enough, although the knot in Peeta’s gut becomes worse. When the elevator doors slide close, Peeta turns to her, blurting out words before he realises what he’s saying.

“I think my mother is on to us,” Peeta says and Katniss’ eyes widen.

“What? How? We’ve been here _ten minutes_ , we can’t be that bad at pretending to be engaged,” she says and Peeta snorts.

“Well, she’s definitely not buying it. Did you see that smile she gave us before we went to the front desk?” Peeta asks, voice sounding increasingly frantic. “Katniss, I know my mother. She is _not_ buying it.”

“Peeta, she’s your mother. Even if she’s onto us, I don’t think she’d hate you if you explained the situation to her.”

Peeta shakes his head. “You don’t know her the way I do. She’s not like that.”

“Peeta, you _have_ to calm down. We’ll just play it up a bit. Hold hands and stuff,” Katniss says and she looks like she wants to ask Peeta more about his mother although she doesn’t say anything after that. Peeta nods, taking a deep breath. The elevator doors slide open and Katniss is out in an instant. The pathway to the chalets is longwinded and dark and Peeta keeps tripping on rocks but a couple of minutes later, the both of them are at an intricately carved wooden door, staring at it silently. Katniss, as always, takes the lead, pushing the door open. The chalet itself is beautiful and totally his mother’s doing. She’s always been a lady of fine tastes and overpriced accommodation.

“There’s only one bed,” are the first words out of Peeta’s mouth and Katniss raises an eyebrow at him.

“Yes, your mother mentioned that.”

“I’ll take the floor,” Peeta suggests although a small part of him hopes Katniss will volunteer to sleep on the floor instead.

“If you insist,” Katniss says, looking smug. Peeta glares at the back of her head as she retreats into the bathroom. He opens the mini-fridge, taking out a bottle of water and sits on an armchair near the patio. Katniss comes back out of the bathroom a couple of minutes later, now wearing a dress. Her hair is down and she looks relaxed which is something Peeta has never seen her be.

“You should change,” Katniss suggests and Peeta gets out of the chair and grabs his bag before moving into the bathroom. He showers as quickly as he can and changes into a new pair of paints and a polo shirt, before going back into the room. Katniss sits on the bed; glasses perched on her nose and novel in one hand. Peeta clears his throat and Katniss looks up.

“We should get to dinner,” he says and Katniss nods.

The walk to the dining hall is short, almost too short since Peeta is dreading introducing Katniss to the rest of his family. When they enter, his father waves them down and Katniss slips her hand into Peeta’s before pulling him towards the table. Peeta’s cousins and aunts and uncles and God knows who else all pull him into hugs, sometimes pulling Katniss in too. It takes ten minutes to introduce her to everyone, and Peeta feels physically drained by the time he’s done. Him and Katniss sit at the edge of the table, opposite Rye and Delly, who was positively glowing. When Peeta tells her this, she grins brightly at him before responding.

“Well I _am_ getting married in three days,” she says excitedly.

Dinner is served shortly after and Peeta is grateful to have an excuse to not have to talk to anyone for a while. Katniss however, is not so lucky. She’s sitting next to Isla, the most talkative person Peeta has ever known in all his years of existence. Katniss looks at him desperately, and Peeta shrugs helplessly, before turning back to his food.

“So Peeta, tell us how you met your girl,” a distant uncle asks him, rather loudly he might add, once dessert has been cleared from the table. Suddenly, everyone’s eyes are on him and Katniss and he feels her shift uncomfortably in her seat.

“Uh, well. We met at work,” Peeta starts off, awkwardly.

“They didn’t just meet at work,” his mother says. “Katniss is his _boss_. Now we know how Peeta gets his bonuses.”

One of Peeta’s cousins thumps him on his shoulder, and the entire table laughs. Peeta’s dad looks at Peeta almost sympathetically whilst Rye shoots a look to his mother. Peeta shifts in his seat, feeling his ears heat up.

“And how did you propose?” Delly asks, eyes twinkling.

“Katniss tells this story, so much better than me. You tell ‘em sweetheart,” Peeta says and Katniss looks at him with an almost deadly look before she awkwardly clears her throat.

“Well, uh. Peeta set up this fancy dinner at this restaurant, and at the end of it, he got down on one knee, pulled out a box and proposed,” Katniss says and the entire table coos even though that is probably the most generic proposal story in the whole world.

“Katniss was a blubbering mess; she just would not stop crying. She even _thanked_ me,” Peeta says and Katniss looks at him incredulously. He smiles back sweetly and there’s a glint in Katniss’ eye when she turns back to Delly.

“It doesn’t end there though. Once I said yes, Peeta actually jumped on his chair and yelled out. He was like a little kid on Christmas. The waiters had to ask him to calm down,” Katniss says and now it’s Peeta who’s looking at her incredulously. “It was so sweet.”

Peeta’s dad looks at him proudly and his mother watches him curiously and Breyan and Rye look positively gleeful once Katniss finishes speaking.

“Oh, she’s exaggerating,” Peeta says and Katniss places a hand on his arm before she responds.

“Peeta, don’t be shy. Your family should know what a softie you really are,” Katniss says and she’s smiling at him smugly. His aunts coo at him once more and if everyone’s eyes weren’t on him and Katniss right now, he would glare at her. His family spend another half hour joking and drinking and Peeta turns to Katniss who’s now trying to pay attention to a story Isla is telling her. Peeta checks his watch before clearing his throat.

“I think Katniss and I are going to head to bed. Our flight was really long, and we could use some sleep,” Peeta says and Katniss looks at him so gratefully that Peeta almost feels sorry for her. His family say their goodbyes, Peeta’s mother watching them carefully. He hugs his father goodnight, and Katniss follows suit although she’s still a bit awkward when it comes to all the hugging.

“Your cousins can talk _a lot_ ,” Katniss says as they make their way back to their chalet. Peeta snorts.

“I’m sure you have family that talk just as much,” he says and she stiffens. She doesn’t respond and Peeta feels foolish although he doesn’t know how he’s upset her.

“Also, Katniss,” Peeta starts, trying to diffuse the tension. “I _jumped on a chair_?”

Katniss looks at him, bright eyed and mouth pressed in a thin line like she’s trying her best not to laugh. “I thought I’d have some fun with it.”

Peeta rolls his eyes and this time, she does laugh.

“In my defence, you started it when you said I _blubbered_ after you proposed. And I _thanked you_ ,” she defends and Peeta grins.

“I thought I’d have some fun with it,” he says, echoing her words. Peeta would have never imagined joking around with Katniss, especially in Hawaii whilst they’re pretending to be engaged.

She opens the chalet door, gesturing for him to go in first and he does.

“Have fun sleeping on the floor, Mellark,” she says as she heads into the bathroom. Peeta grunts, grabbing the thickest duvets off the bed before spreading them on the wooden panels. He changes before Katniss comes out of the bathroom, and by the time she does, he’s already lying down. He’s drifting off into slumber when he faintly hears a _Goodnight Mellark_ but before he can respond, he’s already asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is totally unedited so i apologise for any errors. i truly don't know how to feel about this chapter because it's the longest chapter i have ever written for anything but also, it feels choppy and odd. i was stuck on this chapter for quite a while and i'm sorta confused about how it will progress from here, but i do have an outline of how it'll go. i hope it works out lmao.
> 
> anyways, as usual, kudos and comments are very, very appreciated. i hope this chapter didn't suck, because i'm not too happy with it.
> 
> also, happy thanksgiving to any american readers out there!

**Author's Note:**

> The Proposal is one of my favourite movies in the entire world (God bless Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds honestly) so I had to incorporate Katniss and Peeta into it somehow. I have taken some liberties with the characterisations in the hopes of making this fic, more lighthearted and rom-com like but I do hope I haven't butchered the characterisations entirely. Kudos and comments are so, so appreciated (I love comments, they make my day) so please do leave them, if you want to of course (and hopefully you do).
> 
> Title comes from Bruno Mars' "Marry you" (an iconic song in my opinion). Also this is totally unedited so I'm sorry for any blunders.


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